A guide to the and mammals of coastal Patagonia by Graham Harris, 1998. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 231 pp, 33 colour plates, numerous line drawings. US$65.

Este libro conforma una producción casi única en su tipo. Es la primera guía regional que además trata por igual aves y mamíferos, por lo menos en la zona del ‘cono sur’. Este concepto de guía regional le da a la obra una ventaja inigualable sobre otros libros que sirven en forma similar, ya que se puede permitir el lujo de ahondar en temas que por lo general quedan excluídos de otras guías. Pese a su calidad general y presentación, su precio me parece algo exagerado. Cuenta con una serie de capítulos introductorios ideales, con información completa y concisa sobre topografía, geología, hábitats, etc. de la región. Trata unas 188 especies de aves y 63 de mamíferos. La exclusión de Tierra del Fuego resulta una desventaja, pero es comprensible ya que en ese caso hubiera aumentado en forma significativa el número de especies incluídas. Ya que el libro trata sobre aves y mamíferos, además de detallar información sobre la vegetación, un capítulo sobre reptiles y anfibios de la zona y/o uno sobre peces e invertebrados marinos podrían haber aumentado en gran medida la utilidad del libro para ciertos lectores. De todas maneras es muy probable que estos grupos escapen al conocimiento del autor y es comprensible también que los mismos no fueran tratados. Otro capítulo que fue un tanto injustificadamente excluído fue uno sobre biogeografía, explicando aunque sea en forma introductoria los orígenes y relaciones de la fauna de la región. No resulta llamativo entonces que no aparezca en la bibliografía ninguno de los importantes trabajos realizados en la región por François Vuilleumier, aunque sí lo es que ninguno de sus artículos sobre historia natural—specialmente aquellos sobre tiránidos u otros grupos patagónicos—fueran citados. Uno de los puntos clave del libro lo constituye su estilo de guía naturalista más que de guía de identificación. Para este último propósito el libro es un tanto deficiente o tal vez simplista. Tampoco existen demasiadas especies problemáticas en la zona y una guía de identificación puede ser hasta prescindible en esta región. El principal valor del libro reside en la en general extensa información sobre historia natural presentada para cada especie. El autor siempre incluye datos específicos sobre hábitat y costumbres de las especies, además de datos puntuales sobre distribución, o dónde la especie sea más fácil de hallar. Tal información es en especial detallada para ciertos mamíferos emblemáticos como ser el Guanaco Lama guanicoe, la Mara Dolichotus patagonus o la Orca Orcinus orca. En el caso de las aves, el autor muchas veces parece haber en cierta forma escatimado en espacio, y no sin cierta desilusión noté que para varias especies esos datos de historia natural de los que hablo se encontraban un tanto reducidos. Este libro presentaba una oportunidad ideal para profundizar el conocimiento de varias de las aves raras o poco conocidas de la Patagonia, con las cuales el autor está sin duda familiarizado y que hubieran merecido ser tal vez tratadas con mayor detalle. La calidad de impresión del libro es practicamente impecable, y las láminas a color perfectamente nítidas. Estas últimas, producidas por el autor, pueden generar diversos comentarios. La mayoría van entre apropiadas a muy buenas, aunque existen algunas un tanto deficientes, como la número 11, de rapaces, o la 24 de golondrinas y calandrias, y ejemplos de especies en particular como un gavilán Circus cinereus o los yales Phrygilus gayi, que también son algo pobres. De todas maneras, Harris demostró en su guía ser un consumado artista de mamíferos, siendo éstas las mejores ilustraciones del libro, y pudiendo citarse entre dibujos espléndidos aquellos de una Mara, el Guanaco o el Peludo Chaetophractus villosus. Cada especie tiene un número asignado, que en las láminas da la sensación de ser el de página, y resulta al principio un tanto confuso encontrar a la especie deseada en el texto hasta que uno se acostumbra al sistema. En la lámina 23, de tiránidos, Serpophaga subcristata y Pseudocolopteryx flaviventris tienen los números invertidos. Los mapas son en general lo suficientemente detallados. Sólo se indica allí el número de especie y el nombre científico de la misma, lo que seguramente le traiga dolores de cabeza a más de un lector angloparlante. Se nota en general una tendencia a omitir el sector austral de la distribución de varias especies, y los sombreados de Eudromia elegans, Phleocryptes melanops, Pseudoseisura gutturalis y Agelaius thilius, por ejemplo, deberían haberse extendido más al sur. Existen otras pocas especies cuyos mapas tienen errores, como por ejemplo Pluvianellus socialis, Larus scoresbii o Melanodera melanodera. El principal problema de los mapas reside a mi entender en que tratándose de una guía exclusivamente del sector costero de la Patagonia, el autor desperdició una oportunidad formidable de plasmar en forma precisa y muy informativa los detalles de la distribución de cada especie en esa zona. Por ejemplo, los mapas que muestran a toda Sudamérica o a las Américas enteras o peor aún, a todos los continentes, resultan muy poco útiles al momento de querer visualizar la situación de dichas especies en la Patagonia. En el caso de los limícolas migratorios o de especies cosmopolitas hubiera sido mucho más interesante sombrear en un mapa estrictamente de la Patagonia aquellos sectores donde estas especies se concentran, e inclusive tal vez haciendo la distinción entre sitios de paso y sitios de residencia temporal. Para muchas otras especies, hubiera sido nuevamente mucho más útil mostrar en detalle su distribución a nivel regional que aquella en toda Sudamérica. Este libro no es la fuente a la que los lectores van a recurrir para averiguar esa información. Las apenas tres especies de aves y dos de mamíferos separadas en un apéndice de especies accidentales podrían haber sido perfectamente incluídas en el texto principal, ya que otras formas igualmente raras en la región fueron tratadas en forma completa. Pese a ciertos criterios con los que se puede estar en desacuerdo, esta obra resulta una magnifica compilación de información sobre las aves y mamíferos de una de las zonas más espectaculares del continente a nivel escénico y faunístico. Cualquier observador que se interese por algo más que sólo llenar una lista de aves encontrará en este libro el complemento ideal de información de estilo naturalístico para poder aprovechar al máximo su visita a la zona. No dudo en recomendarle el libro a quien viaje a la zona y pueda pagar su precio. Juan Mazar Barnett

Voices of the troupials, blackbirds and their allies by J. W. Hardy, G. B. Reynard and T. Taylor (1998). Ninety-six species on two cassettes. Produced by ARA Records, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Available in the UK from Wildsounds, Cross Street, Salthouse, Norfolk NR25 7XH.

These tapes bring together vocalisations of 89.7 % of the species recognised by Jaramillo & Burke in their recent monograph1. The comprise some of the best known New World , and have been subject to important studies on evolutionary ecology and behaviour. A new phylogenetic tree, based entirely on molecular data, is available for the family2. Among oscine passerines, icterids learn a significant proportion of their repertoire. Vocally, many marsh or grassland icterids have buzzy or rasping voices, but others are remarkable for virtuoso and bizarre vocalisations (e.g. Solitary Cacicus solitarius), and several are outstanding mimics. Relatively musical songs are produced by Neotropical genera (Dives, Gnorimopsar). This vocal diversity is well represented by this compilation. The recording quality of the cuts for Neotropical species is uneven and sometimes poor. This is understandable for rare species (e.g. Casqued Oropendola Psarocolius oseryi), but not for widespread ones. Another criticism is the absence of sex identification in most cuts. Females of many Neotropical icterids sing and this information (readily available for dimorphic species) would have been useful for ethologists. Data on numbers of individuals in the cuts are usually included, but there is no mention that examples of Chopi Blackbird Gnorimopsar chopi songs appear to be largely duets. Naturally, space forbids adequate samplings of vocal repertoires. I recommend this compilation mostly as a valuable tool for field identification. For those interested in geographic variation within voices (like myself) these tapes provide a useful reference. For instance, they suggest differences between Caribbean and Argentinian populations of Shiny Cowbird Molothrus bonariensis (different subspecies) in pitch and timbre of flight songs. The text often mentions possible revisions in icterid speciation based on vocal differences. This subject requires a careful approach, particularly in groups known to imitate (Cacicus, Icterus). I found more obvious differences between the songs of Cacicus solitarius from (this compilation) and (my own recordings) than between those of Montezuma Psarocolius montezumae and Black Oropendolas P. guatimozinus (this work). Rosendo M. Fraga

References 1. Jaramillo, A. & Burke, P. (1999) New World blackbirds. The Icterids. London, UK: A. & C. Black. 2. Lanyon, S. M. & Omland, K. E. (1999) A molecular phylogeny of the blackbirds (Icteridae): five lineages revealed by cytochrome-B sequence data. Auk 116: 629–639.

Birds of : photographs, sounds and distributions by Peter Boesman, 1999. CD-ROM for Windows. Songs International BV. Available from Bird Songs International BV, Wierengastraat 42 - NL-9969 PD Westernieland - The Netherlands. Fax: (+) 31-595-528629. E-mail: [email protected]. WWW: http//ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bird_songs_international/ . US$57.

Although the Venezuelan avifauna has been relatively well studied and was one of the first in Latin America to be covered by a field guide2, interest in the birds of this country seems to have dwindled in recent years if we are to judge by the output of articles and bird-related products. Whilst scientific publications, birding guides, cassette tapes, CDs and CD-ROMs have appeared for Belize, Costa Rica, , Peru and even , with the exception of revisions of earlier works1,3, next-to-nothing has been produced on the avifauna of Venezuela over the last two decades. Birds of Venezuela: photographs, sounds and distributions attempts to fill that gap. Peter Boesman’s new CD-ROM, in the same series as Sjoerd Mayer’s Bird Sounds of Bolivia, makes available maps, photographs and sounds for 878 species, about two thirds of those occurring in the country. This is an important database, both for scientists in need of an identification tool and birders eager for recent information on the world’s sixth richest avifauna. Here are 700 visual images, 1306 sound recordings totalling seven-and-a-half hours’ playing time and 878 distribution maps, most of which have been created by the author during the years he lived and worked in Venezuela. The treatment breaks down to include, for example, ten species of tinamou, 24 nocturnal birds, 39 ovenbirds, 18 woodcreepers, 65 antbirds and 122 flycatchers. In terms of material, this is a very impressive product. It is worth reflecting on the effort that went into producing this CD-ROM. The accumulation of such a large amount of raw information in the field is no mean feat—it requires time, skill, dedication and no small amount of financial investment. The author is to be congratulated on this mammoth task! For most users, the sound recordings will probably be the most exciting feature of this production. The previously available compilations of bird sounds were Paul Schwartz’s three volume work Bird Songs from the Tropics (including Vibra El Llano) and Jean C. Roché’s LP Oiseaux du Venezuela. The sound recordings on this CD-ROM cover 674 species—over half of the country’s avifauna—many of which are not commercially available. These latter include Venezuelan specialities such as Northern Helmeted Curassow Pauxi pauxi, Rusty-flanked Crake Laterallus levraudi, Ochre-browed Thistletail Schizoeaca coryi, White-throated Barbtail Margarornis tatei, Black-fronted Tyrannulet Phylloscartes nigrifrons, Chapman’s Bristle-tyrant Phylloscartes chapmani, Golden-tufted Grackle Macroagelaius imthurni, Grey-throated Warbler Basileuterus cinereicollis, Grey-headed Warbler Basileuterus griseiceps and Grey-capped Hemispingus Hemispingus reyi. The voices of many of these species are not widely known and some were still unknown when The birds of South America4,5 was published. Other infrequently recorded species such as Rufous-winged Ground-cuckoo Neomorphus rufipennis also appear. The general quality of the sound recordings is good and the author has classified them using a scale of A to E. It is gratifying to see background sounds identified and to have associated data such as locality, date, time and degree of confidence in identification provided; all should be standard on bird sound productions. Most of the cuts are also long enough to provide an idea of the calling frequency or song variation; some—like the cuts of Band-tailed Penelope argyrotis and Crested Guan Penelope purpurascens at over 40 seconds—are perhaps a little too long and could have been replaced with further vocalisations of other species. To my ear, a particularly pleasing series of vocalisations is provided in the Mérida Tapaculo Scytalopus meridanus cuts, which the author has collected from six different areas. On the other hand, one or two recordings of common, vocal species are of surprisingly poor quality when better recordings are available, for example Common Potoo Nyctibius griseus and Troupial Icterus icterus. There are no vocalisations for several easily recorded species, like Mérida Wren Cistothorus meridae (a species not featured on the CD-ROM), Xenopsaris Xenopsaris albinucha and White-bearded Flycatcher Phelpsia inornata, whilst redundant cuts are included for others—for example two very similar cuts of White-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus cayennensis from the same area. Where recordings of Venezuelan birds are not available, the author has made recourse to vocalisations from elsewhere within the species’ range, but this has been kept to a minimum and where this occurs it is clearly advertised in the accompanying notes. One cannot help but feel that collaboration with a good sound archive like the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s Library of Natural Sounds would have significantly improved the overall quality of recordings and increased the number of species covered—perhaps this will be possible in future editions. Nevertheless, we are provided on one CD-ROM with a very fine selection of Venezuelan bird sounds, many of which were not previously available, and the number of species covered compares very favourably with CDs and tapes covering other Latin American avifaunas. Each species appearing on the CD-ROM receives a distribution map. This is a handy tool, particularly as mapped data on Venezuelan birds is difficult to find, and the main publically available information4,5 covers only passerines and at a continental scale. The maps are rather crude and give the impression that they have been compiled largely from written range data provided by Meyer de Schauensee & Phelps2 rather than from specimen records, but they suffice to provide an idea of the broad distribution of each species. There are one or two errors: for example Slate-throated Whitestart Myioborus miniatus is shown for the Paría Peninsula, where it is actually replaced by the Paria Whitestart M. pariae. A nice feature is the facility to show the localities at which photographs and recordings were made on the distribution maps by double-clicking on the locality name. Photographs portray over half the species and some are provided with images taken from two or three different angles. Some portraits are excellent, such as the Wire-tailed Manakin Pipra filicauda and Scale-crested Pygmy-tyrant Lophotriccus pileatus, whilst others are not so good. Overall the photographic quality is uneven with a significant number of shots in the hand. However, there are pleasing photographs of some rarely encountered species, such as Rusty-flanked Crake Laterallus levraudi and White-tailed Sabrewing Campylopterus ensipennis. As with the sound recordings, most of the photographs were taken in Venezuela, notable exceptions being the seabirds, shorebirds and New World warblers. As for presentation and ease of manipulation, users will realise from the outset this is not a seamlessly engineered product like the CD-ROMs available for North America or Europe. Here the layout is a little more rough-and-ready, the nuts and bolts are more apparent and it takes a little patience to navigate the information. In short, do not expect too much beyond the raw data. One attractive feature, though, is a command which allows the user to view photographs or listen to recordings at random and without subtitles, thus providing a test of the user’s visual and aural identification skills. This is a useful contribution to Venezuelan ornithology, particularly welcome given the paucity of easily accessible information. Anyone contemplating a visit to the country will surely want a copy of this CD-ROM, both to prepare for the coming trip and to use back at base camp to check on unfamiliar vocalisations. This will also be a valuable tool for all students of Neotropical birds. Of course, this production is not without scope for improvement but as the author himself points out, this is only a first cut, produced in the hope that others will be stimulated to take an interest in the birds of Venezuela and to collaborate with their findings in future editions. May his wish be fulfilled. Christopher J. Sharpe

References 1. Goodwin, M. L. (1997) Birding in Venezuela. Caracas: Sociedad Conservacionista Audubon de Venezuela. 2. Meyer de Schauensee, R. & Phelps, W.H. (1978) A guide to the birds of Venezuela. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 3. Phelps, W. H. & Meyer de Schauensee, R. (1994) Una Guía de las Aves de Venezuela. Caracas: Ex Libris. 4. Ridgely, R. S. & Tudor, G. (1989) The birds of South America, 1. Austin: University of Texas Press. 5. Ridgely, R. S. & Tudor, G. (1994) The birds of South America, 2. Austin: University of Texas Press.